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Men as Trees Walking

by Ben White

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1.
I've wandered the whole earth looking for you Not the sound of a whisper or your unraveled tune Like a soft fragile thread that though blind I could hold A meandering fragrance there to lead me along And if you remain far I may never be right Like a cave-dwelling flower after fissures of light How they dance to and fro, how they never stand still A nomadic refractory and I can't get my fill How safe are your pinions when the rain's coming down You're a bulwark, you're a shadetree, you're a shield for my brow No longer to run with a snare at my heel No more asylum will sun and moon steal I've grown way too tall, I can't hold myself up And I drank all the water from this dry, broken cup My voice like a siren and my eyes light a light tearing slits in the darkness trying to see through the night I'm afraid if I find you I won't know who you are Like a moon in the morning or a past that leaves scars Is this the real reason, and is this the true way At least due to longing the searching will stay To be lost in your valleys and your hills ever long To be lost in your story and to be lost in your song To perish in rapture and to wither in bliss With morning's felicity, an eternal abyss I've got all my reasons for quitting here listed But a voice deep inside me spoke up and insisted Don't lay down your sickle though the harvest is dry If it hurts it might have mattered, if you feel nothing If I feel nothing did I try?
2.
Salvation 02:59
Salvation, she looks different Raising hell instead of death When I reach right in to pull the chaff Rooting up the wheat instead Oh Lord, you're gonna break me So I'll brace myself again And I know I owe the debt I'll pay I'll break my will instead When the forest tells a truthful tale Of war and endless strife When the soil wills the eyes to see All the blood it drank up dry Oh Lord, you're gonna break me So I'll brace myself again And I know I owe the debt I'll pay I'll break my will instead When the singers sing in one accord And the dove becomes the crown When the trumpet plays a lighted tune And the walls come tumbling down Oh Lord, you're gonna break me So I'll brace myself again And I know I owe the debt I'll pay I'll break my will instead
3.
The night that Manny hit the floor There was a woman at my door With auburn skin and bourbon eyes She loosed the fetter of my pride And she brought me to the other side When Manny hit the floor The night that Manny took the hit Caused me to reminisce a bit Of Simon's boxer in '68 When the world was filled with bitter hate And it seems that not so much has changed When Manny took the hit The night that Manny lost the fight I was sick inside my head all night I was working late cause I was poor To try and make my plight no more To win a round and even the score When Manny lost the fight
4.
Dust 03:29
Where are you, my pride and joy? I lost you in winter, the bitter cold Your headstone read something So long, far gone, to breathe no more Who took you, who had their way? My courage, confidence, put to the test A fortress, strong tower, now turned to dust Now turned to dust My fortress, strong tower, up from the dust Up from the dust
5.
A time has come when the season turns And the leaves, they get too heavy A moment of new precedent A charlatan's unmasking And though they fall it'd hasten them If someone would just shake it The comfort in the fallen leaves And a barren tree forsaken Though your limbs spread far and wide They leave a false impression You only speak of gentle shade But not of fierce transgression That placing shackles on the poor A weakness not to pardon Your shadow cast will leave to pass A desolated garden Go ahead and string me up From one of your big branches Unlike Spring, I'm not the kind To favor second chances You lied, you stole, you compromised You killed and confiscated The robbers crown will crush your brow And the power associated
6.
Mockingbird, have you heard No one likes your singing The devil's tale in beauty veiled Left my eardrums ringing Scissor-tail, fair and pale Back in Oklahoma Though I roam, I will soon be home Never to ignore you Fuck the jay's theiving ways When thrashers die in weeds Stole the nest to my breast To meet the babies needs Robin thrush, miss me much Back in Oklahoma Though I roam, I will soon be home Never to ignore you Sure as hell wish I could quell My migratory patterns It's safe to say I'd like to stay With residential matters Sure as hell wish I could quell My migratory patterns
7.
Adelia 04:56
When I lived out by the river, I was sad and was alone I felt like I was hemmed in by the river like a moat Adelia sat right next to me and she said,"Boy, you'll be fine. I'm here to stop the river flowing from my lover's eyes." Though she loved me like a diamond, her kiss hurt like a snake As she told me I'm the only one that heaven sent her way Her food was always bitter and her warmth was always cold Her gentle touch was not enough for this lonely wandering soul As the daylight started dimming and Adelia hard to see I heard the gentle beckon of the river calling me And with consciousness now brimming I could see the other side The fields were white with harvest and my dreams were realized I knew the night would be lonely as she got up out of bed And let the moonlight guide her to the axe out in the shed She toiled all night like Jacob and she woke with calloused hands From cutting trees and making me a chance to leave these barren sands So I asked her, "Sweet Adelia, why did you cut down that tree?" "I cut it down to make for you a boat so you could flee And I packed a wanderers knick-knacks so you'd have just what you need And I carved my name into the side to make you think of me." Well the world, it sure was pretty, and the things I saw were quite grand I learned some things I surely thought I would never understand Like where I've seen true beauty, what deserved eternal stare Was when I saw the moonlight fall across my lovers hair The journey home is long, I forgot from where I came I feel my soul is lost and calling out it's lover's name But I've found some peace in hoping as the river carries me That someday I'll return and know what it means to be free.
8.
Many years I've tried To know the ways of the churchgoing kind It never ceased to seem a little out of reach For someone who believed like me When I was only five My nature taught me to justify The choices I would make And the lives that I would take But still it never made things right In this chair we learn That lightning gives us what we deserve You don't get one more chance, or redemption's second glance But everything will be alright If I could turn back time I'd like to shield myself and keep what was mine I'd put rockers on that chair and forgive what's way back there And say come sit and talk with me
9.
Where will I be when the world needs my crown? I'll be beaten, battered, broken down By choices I've made and feelings I've had And by thinking that I could make things not so bad I remember when I thought love was so real That it could make crooked roads straight and could heal But that crooked road made me see I'm naive And it raped me of everything I could believe Though all along you were standing right here I was looking for you like you had disappeared Instead I found a god who's righteousness Couldn't humble itself to find good in a wretch Where were you young'un when death took your hand You're still digging through trash cans and playing with sand And making snow angels with ash in the street From great cities and lovers you burned at your feet You babble like a builder with dreams to the throne If you can't speak more clearly then we must build alone So pick up your hammer, take home your pride I'll pick up this old bastard, his crown, and be fine I watched the wind come strong as could be It gathered my failures and took them from me And I shut my eyes tight so I couldn't see And I covered my ears so I can't hear them scream
10.
Arrows 02:58
I know my time is running out Someday soon I know the grave is gonna call When it does I will not be afraid Because I know the darkness knows my name Though I feel that there will be a tomorrow I don't know if there will be a today I must fly much straighter than an arrow I must let my nightmares pass away There ain't no use in packing up your things There ain't no use in following after me There ain't no wandering soul left to be tamed There ain't no use in trying to change my name

credits

released August 25, 2023

Produced, engineered, and mixed by Greg Perkins.
Additional engineering Heitor Lima and Wilson Woodyard.
Mastered by Ed Brooks at Resonant Mastering, Seattle, WA.
Artwork and Photography by Greg Perkins.

All songs written by Ben White and Greg Perkins, except for Adelia written by Ben White, Gabriel Rivera, and Greg Perkins.

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Ben White Gainesville, Florida

Ben White is a folk singer and songwriter who has been creating music for over a decade. His songwriting is heavily influenced by Appalachian music and old country storytelling. Through an honest and introspective approach to music, Ben creates inviting and engaging experiences for the listener. ... more

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